Monday, July 17, 2006

That's right folks, we've enrolled Snowflake and Morgan into doggie training. They are actually doing very well. The first night was fairly amusing with about 10 dogs running around this school gym where the training is held and the trainer, Kathie, trying to figure out who was the alpha. Well, our sweet Morgan was that dog, that's right, Morgan is the top dog. Snowflake on the other hand is just a pushover. Is it wrong that we were glad Morgan was the alpha? We were so proud. That doesn't mean she was starting fights or anything either though, she was just letting them know who's boss, and that's why we got her in the first place - to be our security.

They are both doing really well with training and we have been working with them every day, except yesterday. We thought they needed a break too, but we were still working with them some. Zach and I realized most of the issues are our problems (i.e. not being forceful enough, letting them get away with things, not following through). Since last week though, we have been very conscientious about making sure if we tell them to do something they do it. It's amazing how fast they learn too!

On to the other stuff....Zach had a yo-yo week this past week. He would be in the helo ready to take off then be cancelled for maintenance, the be on again and be cancelled for a SAR case. He can't do cases yet, because he hasn't flown all of his area fam's yet (familiarization flights). He has two more to go before he can be on duty. Hopefully he'll get those out in the next couple days b/c he is supposed to have duty on Saturday.

Friday, I went to El Chicano's for dinner with about 10 other people and then to karaoke. Zach decided he wanted some alone time after his week of work. I protested at first telling him I'd stay home and cook him dinner and he could play video games to his hearts content, but he knew I needed to get out of the house too after being here all week. So since Devin is gone, Stef and I went together with 4 other couples. We were joined by quite a bit more at karaoke. It was a lot of fun. Aparently there is a big group of them that go every weekend and when we walked in, they opened the room about 45 minutes early for us. It was a lot of fun! I think we are going to have a girls night on Saturday and go dancing at a place called Mecca. Stef hasn't been yet either so we are going to get Meccanized. Good times.

Other than that it was a pretty ho-hum week around here. We went on a few walks, some in our neighborhood, some around Lake Gertrude, went to Stef's for dinner last night, Zach did more work on the office, I started working on my craft room, that's about it. Tonight we're having Brian, Amy and Sagan McLaughlin over for dinner. They are another couple coming here from Clearwater and bought a house that I can see from my window. Zach is carpooling with Brian so I can have the car and not feel trapped anymore. Speaking of which, if anyone knows of any legit work at home opportunities that look for a degree instead of just HS diploma, please let me know. I feel the need to work, but there's nothing in town I want to do for the hours I want to work. Yeah, I'm picky, but you all knew that already.

Monday, July 10, 2006

Sunday, July 09, 2006

I've been horrible about not posting any info or pics. It's been a whirlwind of a month (almost) since we arrived on the 14th of June. We arrived to typical Kodiak weather: cold and wet. Luckily we also arrived to the typical Kodiak friendiness: about 12 people waiting outside in the rain to greet us and welcome us to "the Rock". A couple are from the Coastie spouses forum I found online last fall and the rest were from the Officer Spouses Assn. We received a lot of goodies thanks to the hospitality of said greeters.

We stayed at the Best Western across from the marina for 10 days then moved into our new house on the 24th and slept in our sleeping bags b/c we were tired of being cooped up in a hotel. Our household goods were delivered two days later and most everything was in tact. Much better than I anticipated with the 5500 mile trip it had to make by both land and water. Some of the walls got dinged up while they were delivering, but the company is sending someone out to fix it for us here soon. We have most of the house settled, now we just have to get it organized and the rest of the pics hung.

Here's what we look out to from our deck at midnight. Nice, huh?

We joked and said that we did more walking in the first week we were here than we did the entire time we were in Clearwater. We found some trails and walked around the marina too. There is a big bear statue at the marina that Snowflake likes to attack and terrorize. Let's hope if she ever sees one in real life she'll run and not try to attack.

We've made some good friends here already: Stefanie and Devin who we have hung out with quite a bit. Devin and Zach were in flight school together. He flies "the other helicopter" - the Dolphin. Those guys have it rough, they have to go on long deployments. Devin leaves soon for about three times as long as Zach has to deploy for and his was cut in half because someone took part of his so he could get settled in to the island. Isn't that crazy? We have it so lucky.

Marci and Josh and their son Josh have been great too. She took Stefanie and I off roading in Chiniak (on the other side of the island - about an hour away) the first week we were here. It was a blast. We found an old WWII bunker that we will find again when we have the guys with us. You never know what (or who) may be hiding in there, so we didn't want to go in alone.

We had a GREAT 4th of July. Our cul-de-sac had its annual BBQ and fireworks at night. That was great fun. We met a lot of the neighbors and realized we must be on the safest street on the island. We have a firefighter next door, three other CG families, 2 nurses, and a lawyer on our street.

We also went to the base cause there was a big shindig going on at one of the duplex areas. There were tons of people there! They had a fire pit and the kids were running around in bathing suits - or birthday suits as they saw fit - playing in the sprinkler then warming up by the fire pit eating smores. It was a blast. We came back home around 9:30 and the neighborhood party was still going on so we stayed outside to watch them shoot off fireworks. A good time was had by all.

Ok, so yesterday, we decided to hike this mountain with S and D. I've never climbed a mountain before, so I was excited. We had plenty of options, but decided to go up Old Woman. Oh....my.....goodness! That thing never seemed to stop. It took us about 1 hr. 20 min. to climb up. Everytime we thought we were to the top, we looked and the trail kept going up, so we'd go up further. I thought we'd never find the top, but we did. Luckily, the dogs helped pull us up. Unluckily, they kept trying to pull me down too, so Z ended up with both dogs. It was a lot of fun though. D carried his shotgun on his back in case we ran into any bears. On the way up we talked to some people coming down who had seen one that morning. SO glad we didn't see one, although it would have been very cool, I probably would have peed my pants. lol

I think I know why the mountain is called Old Woman too. Some say it's because an old woman could walk up, but I think it's because you feel like an old woman the next day. Man, we came home from church and the grocery, made stoup and fell asleep watching Shrek. When I go up Z asked if I wanted to go for a walk. I don't know how I did, b/c my shins are so tight, but we did and I feel a little better. Once we got back we worked on the garage a little. I actually want to park in the garage for once. We will NOT allow it to get so stuffed that I can't park in there. His Chevelle will have to stay outside.

Ok, folks. Like I said, I'm sorry I haven't updated before now. I'll try to do better and keep up with it at least once a week if not more. I'll try to do more though. Miss you all!

About Us

Zach is a pilot for the CG and I am a SAHM of two two-year olds - both jobs are extremely dangerous and not for the weak of heart. We are stationed in Kodiak, Alaska and love it here. Kodiak has so much to offer and we have made some amazing friends who are now family. It's hard to live away from family, but for now, we know we are exactly where God wants us.